In 1871 James L. Green erected a steam saw and grist-mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1875.
The mill was at once erected a second time, and is at present in operation, being owned by J.
T. Williams, who added a cotton-gin thereto. The other mill of Ripley is a large brick steam flour
and grist-mill, valued at about $20,000, which was erected in 1880 by Johnson, Neal & McKinney.

Ripley Lodge, No. 100, F. & A. M., was instituted in 1842, and removed to Durhamville in
1849. Fuller Lodge, No. 269, F. & A. M., was instituted October 6, 1858. Ripley
Chapter, No. 66, R. A. M., was instituted December 8, 1866. Ripley Lodge, No. 66, I. O. O. F.,
was instituted in 1856, and soon abandoned, but reorganized in 1868, and abandoned a second time
after a few years' work. Ripley Lodge, No. 1011, K. of H., was instituted in March, 1878;
Diamond Lodge, No. 137, K. & L. of H., in February, 1879, and Lauderdale Lodge, No. 16, N.
O. G. C., in May, 1880. Ripley has two weekly newspapers - the News and Enterprise.
The News was established August 9, 1871, by J. L. Sparks, Jr., and P. T. Glass. At the
death of J. L. Sparks, Jr., in 1883, J. L. Sparks, Sr., succeeded to the proprietorship of the
paper, and T. M. Sparks became manager and local editor, and continues as such at present. The
News is a six-column quarto, Democratic in politics, and has a weekly circulation of
700 copies. The Enterprise is a seven-column folio, and was established by L. A.
Palmer August 28, 1885. Though but a few months over a year old, the Enterprise
has built up a splendid business, and has now a weekly circulation of 1,000 copies. It is Democratic
in politics. Drs. James Lackey and John McCall were the first practicing physicians of Ripley,
they beginning in 1836, the former continuing until his death in 1885, and the latter until about
1850. Dr. R. H. McGaughey began to practice in 1844, and continued to 1847; Dr. W. C. Fain, from
1846 to 1866; Dr. John J. Nelson, from 1850 to 1857, and Dr. Stephen H. Steele from 1858 to 1862.
The present practitioners are Drs. B. F. Lackey, D. B. Steele, A. H. Young and G. A. Lusk.
Dr. A. W. Smith, dentist.

Fulton, the oldest town in the county,
is situated on the Mississippi River, three miles above the mouth of Hatchie, twenty-five miles
southeast from Ripley, in the Fourth Civil District, and has a population of about 150. Fulton
was founded in 1827, upon a tract of 760 acres of land entered in the name of James Trimble. Its
founders had hopes of make the town the great city of the West, and advertised extensively its
advantages and offered great inducements to people to settle there. In an almost incredibly short
time the town had upward of 600 inhabitants, all living in shanties and keel boats. Between 1829
and 1831, however, the citizens were stricken with a deadly fever, and about 200 died. The balance
moved away, and by 1832 there was not a single inhabitant. The town was resurveyed and founded
in 1835.

In about 1837-38 Dr. W. W. Lea opened a general store in Fulton, and sold out to E. K. Dodge
in 1834. Dodge sold out to J. M. Alexander in 1846, who continued in business until the
war. Albert and Joel Lea engaged in business at the close of the war, and since then the business
men have been P. A. Crow & Co., Samuel A. Givins, Slaughter & Coleman and A. Lea &
Co., the present business firm. From 1830 to 1840 the Fulton Bank was in operation, of
which A. Lea was president and W. J. Donelson, cashier. A. Lea & Co. erected a large saw-mill
in 1869, which burned in 1876. Dr. Henry W. Sanford is the one practicing physician of Fulton
and vicinity.

Durhamville is the second oldest town
in the county, having been founded in 1829-30 by Col. Thomas Durham, who had a store on the town
site in 1826. Durhamville is situated in the First District, six and one-half miles southeast
from Ripley, and has about 150 inhabitants.

Ashport, on the Mississippi River, sixteen
miles west from Ripley, in the Fifth District, was founded in 1836 by John W. Campbell, Joseph
Jones, William Connor and Matthew Pickett, they owning, jointly, 5,000 acres of land, 200 of which
were laid off into lots, of which about 50 were sold in 1838.

The first merchants were Campbell and Harrolson, in 1838. Then followed Patton & Taylor,
a Jackson firm, and John Duncan. Capt. William Tichnor is the present merchant.

From 1839 to 1847 Ashport gradually washed into the Mississippi. In the latter year a sand bank
appeared before the town, which checked the washing until its disappearance in 1850, when it began
again. All of the original 200 acres of lots have washed into the river. The population
at present is about 100.

Henning, situated on the railroad, six
miles southwest from Ripley, in the Third District, has a population of about 400, and is an important
shipping point. The town was founded in 1873 by Dr. D. M. Henning, and was incorporated in 1883,
remaining so for one year, when the charter was surrendered in order to prohibit the sale of whisky
by the establishment of a chartered school. The town was totally destroyed by fire May 7, 1886,
but has since been almost rebuilt.

Fulton Lodge, No. 448, F. & A. M., instituted at Fulton in about 1840, was removed to Henning
some time during the seventies, and was in active working order until 1881, when it was abandoned.
Henning Lodge, No. 1059, K. of H. was instituted in 1878.

Gates is situated eleven miles north
of Ripley, on the railroad, in the Twelfth District, and has a population of about 350. The town
was founded in 1882 upon the lands of Drs. J. N. Wardlaw and D. M. Henning, and was incorporated
in 1884.

R. S. Porter, druggist, was the first merchant, in 1882, and from that year until
the present time the merchants have been as follows: W. B. Campbell & Co., Campbell &
Bro., Campbell & Carter, C. H. Witt and S. B. Carson; the present merchants being Wilson &
Rawles, C. H. Witt, Wells & Bro., groceries and dry goods; Campbell & Carter, general
store, and Campbell & Co., drugs. Dr. E. K. Williams is the physician.

In 1885 Milner & Gardner erected a large store and heading factory, which
has a capacity of 20,000 staves and 10,000 heads per day.

Hall's Station, on the railroad,
twelve miles northeast of Ripley, was founded in 1882 by Hansford R. Hall, J. S. Stephens and
S. A. Jordan, and has about 400 inhabitants. E. Stanfield, general merchant, was first to engage
in business at Hall's in 1882, and the next merchant was J. Wiggins, in 1883. Then followed Wm.
Stephens, T. E. Salsburry, H. R. Hall and John Davis. The present merchants are Glass &
Stanley, general store; W. F. Waggoman, groceries; Mrs. J. J. Brooks, drugs; W. A. Blair, drugs,
groceries and hardware; S. E. Williams & Co., dry goods and groceries. The manufacturers are
Young & Sawyer, steam cotton-gin; D. P. Shoffner, steam saw-mill and wagon material; J. H.
Farmer, saw, grist and planning-mill and cotton-gin. Shannon & Farmer's mill was established
in 1886. The sawing department has a daily capacity of 15,000 feet of lumber per day, the
planing machine of 20,000 feet, and the cotton-gin of ten bales. Shaffner's mill was established
in 1882, and saws on an average of 30,000 feet of lumber per month, and Shannon & Russell's
mill was established in 1883, and has a capacity of 15,000 staves per day.

Other villages are Flippin, in the Second and Third
Districts, and Curve, in the Seventh District, on
the railroad, Plumb Point and Golddust
in the Fifth and Hale's Point in the Ninth, all
on the Mississippi River; Glympville in the Tenth,
Double Bridges in the Tenth, Dry
Hill in the Seventh, Edith in the
Seventh, Mack in the Fourth, Orysa
in the First, Hurricane Hill in the Third.

In the matter of educational facilities, Lauderdale is below the general average of West Tennessee
counties. the common or public schools are of an inferior grade, are in session not to exceed
three months during the year, and depend almost entirely upon State aid, as the county levies
only a poll tax of $1 in their support. The high or chartered schools are of recent establishment,
few in numbers, and are supported by subscription and public money, each pupil in attendance being
allowed a pro rata share of the State and county funds.

The first school of the county was taught by Mrs. Edith Kenely, a daughter of Hugh Dunlap, one
of the pioneers, at the home of her husband, two and a half miles north of the present town of
Double Bridges, in 1825. In 1826 John Rutherford taught a school in a log cabin near the
Alonzo Dunnevant place in the Seventh District, three miles south of the above village, and in
1827 a log schoolhouse was erected, where Ellan Church now stands, near Double Bridges, and a
school taught there the same year by James w. Hearndon. The next early schools of consequence,
of which there remains any record, were those taught in 1837-38 in the Durhamville District
by Charles Baird and James Byers. At a very early date a school was taught at Mount Pleasant
Church, in the Eleventh District. But it was not until the establishment of the male academy at
Ripley, in 1850, under a charter, that a classical school was taught in the county. As
early as 1841 Joseph Wardlaw, father of Dr. J. N. Wardlaw, present clerk and master of the chancery
court, donated a lot for the purpose of founding the male academy. The building, a frame, was
not erected until 1850, and cost upward of $1,500. School was taught there until 1863-64 when
the house was destroyed by fire by Confederate soldiers. In 1868 the trustees exchanged the lot
upon which stood the old academy, for more extensive grounds in the southern suburbs, and, erecting
another frame building, continued the male school until 1875, when female pupils were admitted.
In 1882 the building gave place to the present two-story brick building, which cost about $5,000.
The building is divided into three large study and recitation rooms on the first floor, and a
laboratory, which is supplied with necessary modern apparatus. The second floor is one large hall,
used for commencement exercises and public occasions. A splendid library and extensive museum
are among the features of this excellent school, which has been approximately named the Lauderdale
Institute. The school is conducted under the auspices of the Methodist Church, and is supported
by the State fund and tuition. The faculty, Profs. E. H. Randle and J. C. Cheek and Miss Mattie
Folts, are experienced instructors, and are building up one of the best schools in West Tennessee.

The Hatchie Academy at Orysa was established by the farmers of the neighborhood in 1880 for the
purpose of giving their children a good practical education. It is emphatically a school for farmer's
children, and since the first has been under the able guidance of Isaac L. Case, M. D., principal.
The citizens take great pride in it, and sustain it liberally. Hon. C. S. O. Rice is president
of the Board of Trustees, and G. W. Young is secretary.

In 1850 A. D. Lunsford and Hiram Partee donated a lot to the Ripley Female Academy,
and in 1853 a two-story frame building was erected by a stock company. This building stood
about one-eighth a mile north from the court house, and was destroyed by fire in 1872 and never
rebuilt.

In 1855 a church and schoolhouse combined was erected at Union Hill, in the Eleventh
District, one mile west of Ripley, the lot having been donated the year before by J. H. Graham,
and in 1867 a lot was donated by A. W. Posey and J. A. Jeffries, upon which a schoolhouse was
erected in the Third District, and a good school was established under supervision of the Methodist
Church, known as Hurricane Hill Academy, which school is in operation at the present.

In 1881 Mrs. E. R. Lewis founded a subscription school in Ripley, which also shares
the public school fund, and continues the same successfully at the present.

The schools of the county are working under charters granted under the Four Mile
Law, all of which are graded, and the date of their establishment is as follows: Orysa, in the
First District, chartered in 1880; Fulton, in the Fourth District, chartered in 1881, Lauderdale
Institute, chartered in 1882; Henning, in the Third District, chartered in 1885; Double Bridges,
in the Eighth District, Chartered in 1885.

The scholastic population of the county June 30, 1885 (the last report) was white:
Male 1,801, female 1,590; colored: male 1,233, female 1,247; total 5,871.

The semi-annual apportionment of public school money for the county in 1885 was
for April $736.12, for October $736.12.

The number of teachers employed in the county in 1885 was, white: male 22, female
14; colored: male 21, female 5. The number of schools taught the same year was, white 36,
colored 26, total 62.

The number of pupils enrolled during 1885 was, white: male 686, female 630; colored:
make 592, female 562, total 2,470.

There are in the county thirty-one schoolhouses, of which one is brick, eighteen
frame and twelve log.

Since 1873 the office of county superintendent has been filled as follows: H.
T. Hanks, 1873-78; Jason Thompson, a few months during 1878; Henry Sanford, 1878-84; George Young,
1884-86 and present incumbent.

In the language of William Turner, who is probably the oldest living pioneer of Lauderdale County:
"We were two years without law or gospel. Mr. Turner came to the county in 1826, and the
two years referred to were from that year until 1828. In 1829 the first church was erected. It
was a small, rough, hewn-log hut or cabin, and stood near Mr. Turner's present home, two and one-half
miles from Durhamville. It was built by the Methodists, and called Turner's Chapel. Wm.
Taylor, commonly called "Billy Taylor" was the first preacher, and was instrumental
to the organization and erection of the church. Subsequently Turner's Chapel was removed
to Durhamville and given the name of St. Paul's. Probably the second meeting-house built
in the county was the Durhamville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in 1830, which continued until
1840. Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church, four miles west of Durhamville, was erected in 1830.
Between 1830 and 1835 Elam Missionary Baptist Church, three miles east of Durhamville, and Mount
Zion Hard Shell Baptist, four miles northwest of Ripley, were erected. Bethesda Methodist
Episcopal, three miles northwest from Gates, was erected in 1847; Ellan Church, used by all denominations,
in 1850, near Double Bridges; Union Hill in the Eleventh District, in 1851, and Antioch Methodist
Episcopal, one mile west of Henning, in 1869. At an early date the Christians, or Campbellites,
erected a church near Flippin's Station. The Ripley churches were erected as follows: Methodist,
erected in 1853 upon a lot donated by Joseph Wardlaw, was a frame, and stood until 1886, when
it was removed to make room for the handsome brick edifice now in course of erection, which is
to be completed December 1, 1886, and will cost $4,500. During the construction of the new church,
the congregation held services in the Lauderdale Institute. Cumberland Presbyterian, erected in
1855 at a cost of about $1,000 is of frame, and in use at present. The lot was donated by Jacob
Byler. Episcopal, erected in 1858, is of frame, and cost about $1,500. ________
is a frame, and standing at present upon the lot donated by Samuel Oldham. Missionary Baptist,
erected in 1859, and still in use, is of frame, and cost $1,500; lot was donated by Hiram Partee.
G. W. Stone donated a lot to a Presbyterian Church in 1853, but no church was organized or erected.
Previous to the building of the above churches, the different denominations held services in the
court house. When Ashport was laid out, the founders donated a lot to every denomination, only
one of which took advantage of the donation. A log church was erected by the Methodists,
but it afterward washed into the river, and was not rebuilt. The Durhamville Methodist Church
was erected in 1847, and replaced with a new frame one in 1859, and the Missionary Baptist in
1860, both good frame buildings. The Henning Methodist Episcopal Church was erected in 1879, the
Christian Church in 1881, and the Missionary Baptist in 1884. The Fulton Presbyterian Church was
erected in 1880, and the Missionary Baptist in 1881. Hall's Station Missionary Baptist Church,
known as Berea, was organized in 1883, and they have a frame building almost completed. There
are no churches at Gates, but the Methodists have an organization, and a church will be erected
next year.